Successor
by Little Sakura-chan
Summary: ON HOLD. Sakura's greatgranddaughter, Emiko Shitori, inherits her power. When a new enemy surfaces, she'll need the help of some very familiar people. It goes between Sakura and Emiko's times.


**Beginning Note:** The main character is based off a drawing I did at work. It goes in between Sakura's time and Sakura's great-granddaughter's time. It's mostly based off the plot line of the manga, so I am very sorry if you're not familiar with that plot line. Some of the differences are, there are only 17 Clow/Sakura cards, there's no Mei Ling, and all of the names are the Japanese ones. Not the crappy American ones. I'm not sure if there are others, but if there is, I apologize and would appreciate if you would bring it to my attention! I hope you enjoy this story!

**Disclaimer-** I don't own any of these characters, except for a select few. I own Emiko and her parents. When new characters appear, I own them as well!

**Author's Note:** Yes, this is in the future. Ninety years to be exact. No. There are no hovercrafts and things like that. Why? Because I'm too lazy to create a whole new world. I think I'll use the excuse that the world is at a technological standstill for some unknown reason. Everything's the same as it was when Sakura lived there. Maybe I'll explain why in later chapters. If you could give me ideas of why, that would be very helpful. I'm not good at envisioning the future for some reason…

Chapter 1- Succession 

"Release!" cried a brown hair, green-eyed girl of sixteen. She held a pink staff with a star in the middle high in the air. Nothing happened.

"Sakura, what the heck's going on?" asked a large creature, golden in color. A man with long white hair stood next to the large animal, looking concerned.

"I don't know, Kero," the girl called Sakura said. "It did this the other day, too."

"You don't think it's a new enemy like Eriol, do you?" asked a handsome young man. He stood next to Sakura with his hand on her shoulder.

She frowned. "I don't think so. Have you sensed anything, Yue?" Sakura asked the white haired man.

"No. Neither I or Yukito have noticed anything."

"Maybe you're not concentrating hard enough," suggested Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo.

"Maybe," Sakura echoed distantly.

She stared at the cards in her hand. It had been a while since she had changed all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. They had been working perfectly fine until a few weeks ago, right after her sixteenth birthday. She looked up to see the young man staring at her.

"Syaoran, why won't they work?" she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "Why?"

Syaoran hugged Sakura tightly.

"I don't know. But don't worry, we'll find out."

He looked at Kero, who changed back into his stuffed animal form. He had a look that told Syaoran that he knew more than he was telling. So did Yue.

"That brat's right, Sakura," Kero said. "It's probably nothing. Let's go home."

Sakura pulled away from Syaoran and wiped her eyes. She nodded and put the Sakura cards into her backpack. Her staff became its small size and she slipped back around her neck.

As the group walked to the Kinomoto house, Sakura was silent. She held Syaoran's hand tightly with unusually cold fingers and her normal sparkling eyes were dull. Kero and Yue were at the back of the group, talking in low voices. When they reached the house, Sakura said that she was going to bed. Syaoran went up to her room with her.

He stood in the hall while she changed. Sakura opened the door and Syaoran gasped. She wore a nightgown that enhanced all her features. He blushed as he entered the room. Sakura seated herself on the bed and Syaoran sat next to her.

"I don't understand," she said quietly, playing with the staff around her neck. " I mean, all of a sudden, the cards stopped working."

Syaoran took her hand and kissed it. "We'll find out what's going on with the cards. Can you think of anything that would make them act this way? I don't see why they wouldn't cooperate since they love you."

"Maybe it's not them. Maybe it's me," Sakura said dully. "Maybe I'm weak."

"That's not true!" he exclaimed. "Your power surpassed Clow himself!"

"Maybe someone's surpasses me?"

Syaoran shook his head. "Stop. Let's not talk about this right now. Get some rest. We'll find a solution to this mess later."

Sakura sighed. She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. A half hour later, she was fast asleep. Syaoran kissed her sleeping face and went downstairs. He walked into the kitchen to see Kero, Tomoyo, Yue, and Touya, Sakura's older brother, sitting at the table, drinking hot chocolate and eating sandwiches. He sat down next to Tomoyo and rubbed his temples.

"I hope you didn't do anything to my sister," Touya said, glaring at Syaoran. Just because that brat and Sakura were destined to be together didn't mean he had to like him.

"Like I would," Syaoran snapped.

"Knock it off!" Tomoyo ordered. "You're not helping the situation."

"Sorry," Syaoran mumbled.

Touya just slouched in his chair and grunted.

Syaoran turned to Yue and Kero. "You two know more than you're telling," he accused.

"You dare," Yue growled, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Yes, I do!" Syaoran yelled, slamming his fist on the table, causing to plates to rattle.

"Be quiet both of you," Kero said, flying to the middle of the table. "Li's right. We do know more than we're letting on."

"What are you doing!" Yue hissed. "This is not the right time!"

"No, it _is_ the right time," Kero spat. "They need to know because Sakura's going to figure it out sooner or later."

"What's happened to her?" Tomoyo asked. "I have two whole video tapes of nothing happening when Sakura goes to release a card."

"It's been like this ever since her birthday," Syaoran said, tracing the wood grain on the table with his fingers.

Kero and Yue looked at each other and Kero sighed. Yue's face saddened.

"Sakura's ma-" Kero began, but faltered.

"What?" Syaoran prodded.

"Sakura's magic is gone."

_90 years later…_

"Wow. This house is old," said ten-year old Emiko Shitori.

"This was my grandmother's house. She lived here when she was your age," her mother, Ayako Shitori explained. "She left it to Grandmamma in her will."

"And Grandmamma left it to you?" Emiko questioned.

"Yep. Let's go find Daddy. I think he's out front talking to the movers."

"Can I go look upstairs, please?" Emiko asked, making her eyes go large.

"Just don't make a mess. Grandmamma left Grandma Sakura's room exactly the same because she liked it that way," Ayako warned.

"I promise, Mommy!" she said and raced up the stairs.

Ayako shook her head and went out front to find her husband. Katashi Shitori was looking at all the boxes that littered the front yard. He smiled at his wife when he saw her.

"Where's Emiko?" he asked.

"Upstairs, looking at all the rooms."

"Do you think what your grandmother said was true? About Emiko?" Katashi asked.

Ayako shrugged. "Who knows? Great Uncle Touya said something too, though Grandma Sakura and Grandpa Syaoran were pretty serious about it," she said.

"That's very true. And if their prediction is true, Emiko should be in for a surprise very soon."

"_ACHOO!_"

Emiko's eyes watered because of the dust in the room she was in. she rubbed her nose and looked around. The furniture was covered with sheets that were gray with dust. The wooden floor also had a thick layer of dust and Emiko could see where she had walked. The walls were painted a pretty light pink she discovered after wiping a finger down them.

Emiko walked to a piece of sheet-covered furniture and pulled off the grimy sheet. A desk stood in front of her, pictures from ninety years ago still there. Emiko picked up one of the many picture frames on the desk. This showed two girls, one with short brown hair and the other with long black hair, eating ice cream cones. They appeared to be about her age. She set down that frame and picked up a loose picture of the same brown haired girl, but this time she was with a very attractive young man. They girl looked older in this picture, about sixteen. Emiko flipped the picture over and read the writing on the back:

_Syaoran and me. Our two-year anniversary of him coming back to Japan!_

The handwriting was neat and bubbly, definitely a girl's handwriting. At the end of the short sentence, the girl had drawn a little heart. Emiko laughed. She did that all the time.

She shuffled through some more of the loose photos, reading the names on the back. There were a lot of the boy Syaoran, and an older teen named Touya, and the girl with the long, black hair, Tomoyo. She set down the pile of photos and opened some of the desk drawers. In the top one, she found a few books. She opened one and realized that it was a diary. Emiko took the sheet off the chair, sat down, and began to read.

After reading a few entries from when the girl was ten, she looked through the other drawers. One drawer was completely filled with letters that were bundled together and tied with string. They were all addressed to her great-grandmother, Sakura Kinomoto, and they were all from the same person, Syaoran Li, her great-grandfather. They were spanned over two years and were from Hong Kong. Emiko opened the last drawer.

Sitting in the drawer was a pink book with a lion-looking creature with wings and said Clow. She tried to open it, but it was locked. She saw a pink key with a star attached to a fine chair. When Emiko picked it up, the book's lock popped open. Clutching the key in her hand tightly, she opened the book.

The book really wasn't a book. It held a set of cards. Emiko pulled them out of their niche and shuffled through them. They all had a seal on the back of them and Sakura's name was on the bottom of each card. She picked out the card that had a girl holding a dandelion-like flower.

"_Glow…_" she read aloud. She jumped when the seal appeared on the floor under her.

The card in her hand began to emit light and then the room was filled with little glowing balls. Emiko dropped the cards and they scattered on the floor. She caught the little, flying girl that the glowing balls seemed to come from. It was the same girl on the card.

"You're the thing that's on the card!" she exclaimed, holding the tiny creature close to her face.

The girl smiled and nodded and resumed flying again. She turned back to the book to see a fuzzy head emerging from it. She just stared at the stuffed animal that had come from within the book. It opened its eyes.

"Hey! You look nothing like Sakura!"

Ayako and Katashi looked up from the box they were checking when they heard Emiko's scream.

"Guess she found it."

"Guess so."

"Y-you t-talk!" Emiko screeched.

"Uh, duh. Of course I do," said the flying, talking stuffed animal. He scrutinized her closely. "You look a lot like Tomoyo."

"That girl in the photo?" Emiko asked.

The thing walked across the desk and shuffled through the pictures. He held up one and pointed to the girl with black hair. "Her."

"I don't know. Who are you?" she asked the orange stuffed animal. "You're a freaking stuffed animal!"

It glared at her. "My name is Keroberos. This isn't my true form. My true form is nothing compared to what you see!"

"Uh huh. You're still a flying, talking stuffed animal."

"You sound exactly like that brat, Syaoran!" he shouted.

"Great-grandpa Syaoran?" Emiko asked.

Kero froze. "They got married and had children?" he asked, stunned.

"Uh, yeah. How else do you think I got here?" she said. "If you knew them both, how can you not know that they got married?"

Kero sighed heavily. "It's a long story."

"Well, I have plenty of time."

"What do you mean my magic's gone?" Sakura demanded. "How can it just be gone?"

Yue looked at the angry girl. He had loved Clow Reed very much and didn't like the idea of getting a new master. He hated Sakura at first, but learned to love her as he got to know her.

"Do you remember what powers you possessed when you surpassed Clow?" he asked.

"No," Sakura said, scrunching her nose in thought. "That was a long time ago.

Yue rubbed his neck. Sakura had opted to not use this particular power when she had found out what it was.

"Remember Clow was able to see the future. You can also do that. You need to find out if you have a successor."

"What if I look and I don't have a successor? What happens?"

"Then Kero and I disappear and the cards become paper. Your staff is just another toy."

"Wait," Syaoran said. "If her magic's gone, how can she look into the future?"

"She only had this power left. Since she decided to not use it, it's been stored deep inside of her," Kero explained. "After you use the last of this magic, you have no power left. The cards are just paper until you have a successor."

Sakura looked at Kero and Yue. These faces were so dear to her. How could she go the rest of her life without seeing them?

"Yue? Kero?" she choked out. "I want a picture of you guys. I don't want to spend the rest of my life without being able to see you."

Kero looked at Yue, who nodded slightly.

"Sure. Anything for you, Sakura."

Sakura's hands shook violently as she took Touya's camera. She placed a trembling finger on the button and pressed down. The flash went off, blinding everyone momentarily. When the spots clear out of their eyes, they saw Sakura was sobbing on the ground. Syaoran started towards her, but she got up and ran out of the kitchen. They heard the front door slam.

Tomoyo blinked tears from her eyes. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"You guys think of something," Syaoran called over his shoulder. "I'm going to find Sakura!"

He pulled on his shoes and jacket hastily. Syaoran ran down the street, only thinking of the girl he loved and her distress. He found her in Penguin King Park. Some thugs had surrounded her and her hassling her. Anger smoldered in Syaoran's brown eyes. He sprinted to the group.

"You will all pay with your life if you touch her," he said, voice deadly.

The thugs turned to say something, but stopped when they saw him. They could tell that he was serious. They scattered.

Syaoran squatted in front of Sakura and peered into her face. Her eyes were fixed on the ground and she was hugging her knees to her chest tightly. Syaoran put his hand on her shoulder. She didn't look up.

"Sakura, you need to come back to the house," he coaxed. "It's cold out here and everyone's worried about you." Sakura didn't even blink. "Sakura!" Syaoran said roughly. "Stop this!" When Sakura still didn't move, he got up and turned away, frustrated.

"I can't."

"What?" Syaoran asked, turning back around.

"I can't," came her strangled voice again. "I can't go through not being able to see them." She looked at him. "It was hard enough when you were gone, but I knew you were coming back! Yue and Kero aren't! I won't see then ever again after I look for my successor." She buried her face in her knees.

"You have memories," Syaoran pointed out, sitting next to her.

"Memories aren't good enough!" she shouted. "I want the real thing. I want to be able to talk to then and touch them! Not some stupid photograph!"

"We can't help that fate decided a hard and painful path for us to walk!" Syaoran reprimanded. "Since when have you been such a crybaby?"

Sakura blinked, shocked that he had called her a name. "W-what?"

"You heard me. You're acting like a crybaby and a spoiled brat. You can't have everything, Sakura."

Sakura stuck out her chin mulishly. "I'm not a crybaby or a spoiled brat! I'm upset about what's going to happen! Kero will go back into the book and Yue will lie dormant within Yukito! Yukito may not even exist after this! It's hard on me!"

"And it's not hard on them? Come one, Sakura. You're not the only person with feelings you know. Those two are just as broken up as you. God knows that Tomoyo and I are going to miss them. And what if Yukito disappears? How do you think Touya is going to feel? And he'll also worry even more about you because he won't have Yue to tell him that you're in danger. I'm sure you hadn't thought of that."

"No, I hadn't," she said quietly. "I've been foolish." She wiped her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm just so disoriented. Why all of a sudden did my magic disappear?"

Syaoran put his arms around her. "We don't know yet. Everyone's at your house trying to figure it out." He looked at his watch. "It's eleven o'clock. We should go back."

Sakura nodded and they got up. They walked hand in hand as they made their way back to the Kinomoto house.

"Okay, wait just a minute." My great-grandmother, Sakura, was master of the Clow?"

"Uh huh."

"And she changed all of the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards to defeat Eriol?"

"Uh huh."

"But she lost her power when she turned sixteen?"

"Uh huh."

"The only think she had left was to see into the future?"

"Uh huh."

"And when she did, she saw me, her great-granddaughter, and found out that I was her successor?"

"Bingo!"

Emiko sat on the chair, stunned. The freaky, talking stuffed animal had just told her that she had surpassed her great-grandmother's magic. She was the successor to the Clow, one of the most ancient magic in the world. It also seemed that Emiko carried a very small amount of Clow Reed's blood. Syaoran, her great-grandfather, had apparently been distantly related to the man.

"I know it's a lot to handle, but you'll do fine!" Kero said happily.

Emiko glared at him. "No! Really! I couldn't figure that out myself?" she snapped. A knock on the door caused Emiko to look up. "Yes?" she asked, curter than she would have liked.

Her mother opened the door. If she had heard how mean her daughter sounded, she ignored it. She smiled when she saw the cards on the floor. She also saw an orange 'stuffed animal' sitting on the desk, staring at her.

"Daddy went out to get food," she said. She turned to the desk. "He's getting you something, too," she said to Kero.

Emiko looked at her mother in surprised. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kero smile.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I may not have the same amount of Grandmother's magic or her power, but I still have some. You're Kero, I presume?" she asked him. She bowed. "I'm Ayako Shitori, Sakura's granddaughter and Emiko's mother."

"Nice to meet you," Kero said, flying over to the woman. "Now _you_ look more like Sakura than your daughter."

"She looks more like her father. He's Sakura's best friend's grandchild."

"Ah. So that's why she looks more like Tomoyo than Sakura?"

"Yep," Ayako replied. She went to the window and looked out. "Katashi's back with the food. Let's go downstairs and discuss this."

"You knew about this!" Emiko asked incredulously.

"Of course I know. Grandmother talked about you constantly," Ayako told her daughter.

Emiko scowled at her mother. "I'm glad someone informed me," she muttered and stomped down the stairs, angry that she was the last one to know everything.

Ayako rolled her eyes at Kero.

"Just wait until she's a teenager," he said.

"Oh boy. More mood swings."


End file.
